Loom filling grate cleaner



Feb. 18, 1958 C. M. CULPEPPER ET AL LOOM FILLING GRATE CLEANER Filed Oct. is, 1955 INVENTORS 0 3/ M fl'ulpepper a"? Jizel Cuvqvper ZW, 944k!- ATTORNEY/S United States LOOM FILLING GRATE CLEANER Coy M. Culpepper and Jael Culpepper, Greenville, S. C.

Application October 13, 1955, Serial No. 540,196

5 Claims. (Cl. 139-379) This invention relates to a loom grate cleaner and more particularly to such a cleaner designed to clean the filling fork grate on weaving looms by removing loose threads, lint and other foreign material from such grate on each beat-up of the lay to thereby avoid faulty operation of the loom stop mechanism.

Power looms are conventionally provided with weft or filling thread detecting mechanism embodying a grate mounted upon the lay and a weft or filling detecting fork mounted on the breast beam to cooperate with the grate upon lay beat-up to determine whether or not filling has been laid in the shed. Upon such detecting fork sensing the absence of a filling or weft thread, a change in loom operation such as, for instance, stopping the loom, is effected. During weaving, especially with certain kinds or makes of filling or weft threads, lint, dirt or other foreign matter may accumulate on the filling grid or grate with the result that the detecting mechanism may fail in its functional operation and call for loom stoppage when as a matter of fact, the weft thread has been laid in the shed. To guard against this improper operation of the weft detecting mechanism, the grid should be maintained free from lint and other substances during the entire weaving operation.

The conventional power loom includes a suitable lay mounted for oscillatory movement on the upper ends of sword members. The weft detecting grate or grid, provided on such looms, is disposed adjacent the reed in the lay at one or both ends of the loom. Upon oscillation of the lay, the filling detecting fork penetrates between the bars of the grate or grid and if such fork senses the presence of a filling thread, the fork is pivoted to a position such as to prevent actuation of a stop motion means for the loom. If there is no filling cast across the shed in the weaving operation, the pivoted filling fork will penetrate the grate and will therefore not be moved on its pivot whereby suitable stop motion means for the loom will be set into action for stopping the loom. If

loose pieces of thread, lint, etc., lodge across the grate or grid, the filling fork is unable to penetrate the openings in the grate or grid and even in the absence of a filling thread extending across the lay of the loom from one shuttle box to the other, the loom will not be stopped. Failure to promptly stop the loom in the absence of filling, results in thin places in the cloth produced by the loom.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a grate cleaner effective to remove lOOse threads or lint which may become lodged in the grate upon each oscilla tion of the lay to a position most remote from beat-up position.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved loom filling grate cleaner characterized by having extremely durable cleaning members which will not be subject to rapid wear in cleaningly engaging with the loom grate when the lay oscillates to its rearmost position.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a ice loom grate cleaner employing loosely mounted coiled or tubular members which vibrate during loom operation so as to more effectively clean the filling grate when the lay is farthest removed from beat-up position, and wherein such members are readily replaceable and adjustable relative to the filling grate to obtain most effective cleaning of such grate.

The above set forth objectives of the instant invention are accomplished by providing a pivotal mounting for individual grate cleaning members with such mounting being secured to the lay as by attachment to the upper end of the sword so that such grate cleaning members may be moved into the slots of the filling grate by means of an actuating lever connected to cause movement of the members into cooperation with the grate by engagement of the end of such lever with a stationary abutment mounted on the loom frame as the lay approaches a position farthermost from beat-up position.

The foregoing and other more specific objects which will appear as the description of a preferred embodiment proceeds hereinafter, will be more apparent by references to such subsequent description. The invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment fo the invention herein disclosed may be made Within the scope of the appended claims Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of pertinent portions of a conventional loom having the grate and grate cleaning device of the instant invention mounted thereon to show the relationship and interaction which takes place upon operation of the loom;

Figure 2 is a detailed sectional View showing the man ner in which the pivotal mounting for the grate cleaner is fastened onto the loom sword; and

Figure 3 is an exploded view showing the relationship of the elements employed in connecting the cleaning device to the lay.

In view of the fact that the instant invention is concerned with a grate and grate cleaning mechanism for an automatic power loom, and since the construction and operation of automatic stop mechanisms for such looms, as well as the looms in which they are incorporated are all well known and familiar to those skilled in the art, only those portions of a conventional type of loom, together with a preferred embodiment of the present invention applied thereto, are illustrated on the drawing.

Referring to Figure l on the drawing, there is shown thereon portions of a loom of usual construction including a frame 1 having bearings 2 mounted at each side of the loom to form journals for a crank shaft 3 having cranks 4. A lay 5 oscillated by pitman rods 6 is secured at the upper end of swords 7 which oscillate upon a rock shaft (not shown) mounted along the lower part of the loom. Pitman rods 6 are pivotally connected between cranks 4 and the upper end of swords 7 adjacent lay 5 so that crank 4, upon rotation of shaft 3, will effect forward and rearward movement to complete the beat-up. Lay 5 carries the usual reed 8 and, as shown, has mounted thereon adjacent one end of the reed, a filling grid or grate 9 which is secured to the lay in a suitable manner as,for instance, by connection with the back box-plate of the shuttle box.

As is now conventional in loom structures embodying the features generally described above, such looms are commonly rendered automatic by providing thereon a so-called filling fork mechanism which acts, upon breakage or failure of the running filling, to effect a change in the operation of the loom as, for example, either stopping of the loom or automatic replenishment of the running filling supply. Such a filling fork mechanism usually embodies the two main elements of a grid or grate, such as shown at 9 on Figure 1, carried by the lay in front of which lies the path of the filling thread from theshuttle to the cloth, and secondly, a filling fork pivoted on a fork slide carried by the breast beam; The filling grate 9, as illustrated on Figure 1, comprises a substantially U-shaped plate formed with a plurality of parallel elongated slots 10 extending throughout a major portion of the length of the plate. To facilitate attachment and proper adjustment of the plate in position on the lay, a sloted tab (not shown) is provided extending laterally from the plate so that the grate can be suitably corinected to the back box-plate of the shuttle box.

For most effective illustration of the instant invention, as applied to a more or less conventional loom structure, only one corner or end of the loom has been shown on the drawing. It is recognized that in some locrn constructions, a filling detecting mechanism is provided at both ends of the loom, and it is contemplated that the loom grate and hereinafter described grate cleaning device may be provided adjacent the pitman rods at each end of the loom.

Figure 1 illustrates one type of pitman rod of more or less conventional construction as employed on power looms. This rod includes a central bar 15, nsually of wood, and a pair of U-shaped straps 16, respectively engaging the crank 4 at one end of the pitmanrod and a pivot pin mounted at the upper end of sword -7 6n lay 5. These straps enclose the sides of the central bar and have at each end thereof outwardly 'extending flanges E! which are engaged by bolts 18 to draw the U-shaped straps toward one another and retain the pitman rod assembly on crank 4 and the pivot pin on layti.

The grate cleaning device of the instant invention secured to the lay 5 at the upper end of sword 7 ,by an angle member 20 and fastening bolt 21. A plate 22 having an elongated slot 23 is secured to the outwardly extending leg of angle member 20 by means o f'bolt 2 4, The upper end of plate 22 carries a bearing 25 which pivotallysupports a shaft 26. i i

A further bearing support for shaft 26 is providedtby a bracket 27, the outer end of which encircles one end of shaft 26 and the opposite end of which is provided with an elongated slot 23 secured to the b ack box-plate of the shuttle box by bolt 29 which also is the bolttliat serves to retain the'grate 9 in position.

Rigidly secured to .one end of shaft 26 there is pro vided an arm which extends downwardly from shaft 26 and forwardly toward grate 9, and is bent laterally to provide a tab 36 for mounting the individual] grate cleaning members 37 which cooperate with slots 1i).

grate 9 in .effectingthe cleaning operation.

To support the individual grate cleaning members 37,. there are attached to tab 36 a series of upwardly and downwardly facing U-shaped mounting rods 38 and .39. Such rods may be suitably connected to tab 36 as 'by being welded thereto, with each pair of such rods positioned with the free outer ends thereofspaced .and aligned so that individual cleaning members 37', which preferably take the form of coiled spring-like elements, may be placed over the opposed ends of rods 38 and 39iso, as to be loosely retained thereon. i l i i l The cleaning members may be made in the formof coiled springs or tubes and are preferably made of metal so as to have the desired resiliency, that uponvloorn operation, a vibrating, jingling action, irelative to the mounting rods and the slots 10' with 'whichlth ey cooperate takes place. It will be readily .recognized that any suitable, durable rnaterial,,asplastic or other material, may be usedinjforming the cleaning, members as long as it possesses the gharacteristic'pf retaining-its formed shape when ppsitioned onthe mounting r o ds A particular advantage stemming fromthe usefor metal or resilient plastic spring or tube structuresfor fthe cleaning members, resides in the fact that such springs or tubes arenot subject to unreasonable wear which, as is well known, takes place to a marked extent in the presently employed loom grate cleaners utilizing various forms of fibrous brushes in cleaning the grate. Additionally, by reason of the loose mounting of cleaning members 37 on rods 38 and 39, such members can freely vibrate to be in effect self-cleaning, and also enhance the cleaning action performed by the members as they cooperate with the filling grate;

To move the cleaning members into cleaning engagement with the slots 10 of grate 9, there is secured to an end of shaft 26, by means of a cotter pin, 'an actu- 'ating lever 41. In the embodiment, as illustrated on Figure 1, a spacing collar 42 encircles shaft 26 and is positioned between plate 22 and lever 41. Spacing collar 42 houses a coil spring 43 which is appropriately tensioned and fastened by means of a cotter pin 44 so as to urge shaft 26 to rotate in a direction tending to retract cleaning members 37 from cooperation with the slots of grate 9t0 the position shown on Figure 1. Preferably arm 35 conuected to shaft 26 is provided with stop means (not shown) which'cooperate with bracket 27 to limit the extent of movement of grate cleaning members 37 into and'away from grate 9.

An actuating abutment member 45 is secured to the loom frame" by means of a bolt 46. Such abutment member has a leg '47' which is engaged by the lower endof actuating lever 41 as the lay 5 oscillates rearwardly from beat{ p position upon rotation of shaft 3.

The operation of the instant invention will be apparent from the hereinabove described structure. Thus, it will be're cogniz ed that as shaft 3 rotates during loom operation to "e'fielct through crank 4 oscillation of lay 5 mounted on swords 7, actuating, lever 41 will engage with leg 47 on abutment member 45 so that'when the lay moves to its fully retracted position relative to the beat-up position, lever 41 will pivot shaft 26 and, through arm 35, will move cleaning mernbers 37in to the slots 10 of grate 9. Accordingly, following each beat-up of the lay, as the crank 4 nears its back'cent ered position, leg 47 which is secured 'on the loom frame will cause the cleaning members 37 to move into the'grate slots, and

similarly, as the lay 5 starts ,back toward beat-up position, the cleaning members 37 will be retracted from grate 9 under the action of spring 43. This'cleaning action of the device of the instant invention results in the cleaning members 37 being moved into and out of engagement with the grate slots 10 when the lay 5 is fully retracted from beat-up position. This insures that the cleaning operation does not conflict with the beat-up action or in any way interfere with the operation of the filling detecting fork which cooperates with the grate or grid as the lay moves toward beat-up position.

The filling grate cleaner, as described hereinabove, may be readily applied to all types of looms having a variety of different lengths and styles of cleaning grates, it being appreciated that by'rea son of the elongated slots provide-d in the mounting elements for the cleaning device, that such device maybe adjusted as desired to secure the proper cooperation with the grate slots. The advantages inherent in the fillinggrate cleaner as described above, are apparent in that tlie'cleanei" continuously maintains the filling grate of the loom free of lint, thfeads and other foreign materialduring loom operation. By maintaining the filling grate continuously clean, the production of cloth seconds having thin places thereinwill be minimized. Such thin places may be caused by stopping up of the filling grate so that the detecting fork cannot properly perform its operation of stopping the loorn operation. Obviously, the utilization o f the automatic filling grate cleaner of this invention will dispense With the necessity of the manualcleaning of such grates as is presently performed by stopping the loom and effecting hand-cleaning through utilization of a brush.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. A grate cleaning device for use with a loom having a lay provided with a filling detecting grate and a crankshaft mounted on the loom frame with a pitman rod pivotally connecting the crankshaft and the lay for imparting oscillatory movement to the lay, comprising hearing means having mounting means therefor to fasten said device to the lay structure to partake of oscillatory movement along with the lay and grate, shaft means pivotally carried in said bearing means, an arm extending laterally from one end of said shaft means and having a support portion for cleaning means at the outer end thereof, cleaning means mounted on said support portion to be swingable upon pivotal movement of said shaft means into cleaning engagement with the slots of the grate, an actuating lever connected to said shaft means to extend rearwardly from the lay structure on which the device is fastened and be engageable with an abutment on the loom frame upon each oscillation of the lay from beat-up position, thereby to effect swinging movement of said cleaning means into cleaning engagement with the grate, and spring biasing means urging said cleaning means to swing away from the grate.

2. A grate cleaning device as recited in claim 1 Where in said grate cleaning means comprise individual cleaning members loosely mounted generally parallel to one another on said support portion to cleaningly cooperate with the grate slots and partake of vibratory movement during loom operation for most effective cleaning of the grate.

3. A grate cleaning device as recited in claim 2 Wherein said individual cleaning members are mounted by being loosely engaged over parallel rods carried by said support portion so as to vibrate relative to said rods during loom operation.

4-. In a loom having a lay provided with a grate and a crankshaft mounted on the loom frame with a pitman rod pivotally connecting the crankshaft and the lay for imparting oscillatory movement to the lay, a grate cleaning device including bearing means mounted to oscillate with the lay, shaft means pivotally supported in said bearing means, an arm having one end thereof secured to said shaft means and having a cleaning member support portion 'at the opposite end thereof, separate cleaning members mounted on said support portion positioned so that each such member is cooperable with one of the slots in the loom grate, an actuating lever carried by said shaft means and extending laterally outwardly thereof to engage with an abutment carried by the frame of the loom upon each oscillation of the lay from beat-up position whereby said shaft means will be pivoted and swing the cleaning members on said arm into cleaning engagement with the grate, and means urging said cleanmg members to swing away from cleaning engagement with the grate.

5. In a loom having a lay provided with a grate and a crankshaft mounted on the loom frame with a pitman rod pivotally connecting the crankshaft and the lay for imparting oscillatory movement to the lay, a grate cleaning device including mounting means fastening said device on the lay structure to partake of oscillatory movement with the lay and grate and having at least one elongated slot to enable vertical adjustment of said device relative to the lay structure, bearing means carried by said mounting means, shaft means pivotally supported in said bearing means, an arm extending laterally from one end of said shaft and having a support portion for cleaning means at the outer end thereof, cleaning means mounted on said support portion to be swingable upon pivotal movement of said shaft means into cleaning engagement with the slots of the grate, means including an abutment member mounted on the loom frame for effecting swinging movement of said cleaning means into cleaning engagement with the grate upon each oscillation of the lay away from beat-up position, and means urging said cleaning means to swing away from cleaning engagement with the grate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,255,736 Gendron Feb.'5, 1918 1,734,086 Gordon Nov. 5, 1929 2,701,587 Culpepper et al Feb. 8, 1955 

